S8 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
SALT AND AGRICULTURE IN 
CEYLON. 
The nianufactuie and .suiiply of salt to the 
public of Ceylon is a monopoly of the Govern- 
ment. Here, a.s in India, the ititticulty of reach- 
ing the masses by any other form of direct taxa- 
tion has been ahvay.s the apology for a levy 
on an article so indispensable to human existence 
and to healthy, active life. To tax salt though 
has very frequently been realised as at best a 
painful necessity, and when one thinhs of the 
po.ssibilities of “free salt” both among the peo]ile 
and the soil, a longing to see the necessity 
lemoved, can with diliiculty, be repressed. 
In the case of Ceylon, however, it has 
been pointed out that with the natural forma- 
tion, or artilicial manufacture of salt, confined 
to two points so remote from the chief cen- 
tres of population, as are Puttalam and Ham- 
bantota, it is questionable whether, had we free 
salt and private enterprise, distribution could 
be more readily or economically effected than 
at present by Government which charges the 
monopoly price uniformly and is responsible for 
the local supplies. This may have been true in 
pre-railway days ; but we entirely deny the 
force of the argument at the present time and 
still more when Puttalam is brought into direct 
railway communication with tlie capital and high- 
lands. All this by way of introduction ; but 
before we leave the subject, we would wish to 
add that any attempt to increase tlie salt-tax 
in Ceylon ought to lie strictly resisted. Such an 
attempt was threatened if not maile by Sir Arthur 
Havelock in 1892 ; and we think a protest we 
sent to Lord Ripon (then 8ecreta,ry of State) 
from Port Said when on our way back to the 
island, hel[)ed to suppress such proposal. 
Be that as it niay, our topic of discussion 
today is one that is by no means unfamiliar to 
our older readers, although it has not been re- 
vived for some years now. The value of salt in 
several, if not all, branches of agriculture in 
Ceylon has long been recognised. To coconut 
and other palm and fruit-tree cultivation salt is 
of ))re-eminent value. The coconut flourishes 
along the seashore in, apparently, very poor 
sandy soil chiefly owing to saline mixtures and 
deposits ; and how greatly the trees could be 
assisted farther inland if salt were available for 
application, is realized by all planters. There 
are eeriain soils which could not fail to be bene- 
liited by salt applications, no matter what crop 
they carry ; and in this way coffee planters 
of a bygone generation as well as rice cul- 
tivators, were very eager to have the Cey- 
lon Government allow salt to be denatura- 
lised, so that it could be had tree of the 
monopoly tax to benefit agriculture. This the 
Government was by no means unwilling to allow, 
provided sufficient assurance could be obtained 
that the proce.ss of denaturalisation was so 
effectual as to prevent the salt being used for 
human food. A great many experiments extend- 
ing over not a few years were made, but always 
with such unsatisfactory results that the Gov- 
ernment had to refuse its sanction to the agri- 
cultural appropriation of salt. The question 
excited considerable attention throughout the 
administrations of Sir Henry Ward and Sir 
Charles MacCarthy and part of that of Sir Her- 
cules Robinson an 1 has been revived, at intervals 
since, but always without success. Nevertheless, 
the importance of the proposal to utilize salt in the 
chief industries of the island has, in no way, abated. 
fAuG. 2, 1897. 
During his recent visit to Europe, the Hon. 
P. Coomaraswamy met an intelligent (xerman who, 
manifesting an interest in Ceylon, after a time 
got on our .salt monopoly. He .showed th.it tue 
Government monopoly was quite as strict in 
Germany : but that the problem of denaturali- 
zation has been successfully solved, so that salt 
free of tax was permitted to be used for agri- 
cultural and manuring purposes. Mr. Coomara- 
swamy a.s a coconut estate proprietor was 
naturally interested, and in answer to a request 
for fiutlier informarion, a letter, of which tlie 
following is a translation, was received : — 
Berlin W., Feb. 22ud, 1897. 
The lion. P. Coomaraswamy, Loudon. 
Dear Sir,— According to your wish 1 append an 
abstract of the German law rc inland revenue on 
salt, dated the 12th December 1867 5 2. The inland 
revenue on salt is 6 marks for 50 kgr. (about 6s. a 
hundred-weight), ^20. Free of tax are the following : — 
No. 2. The salt used for agricultural purposes, i.e., 
for the feeding of cattle and for manuring. 
No. 3. For pickling herrings and similar fish. 
No. 4. The salt employed for all other industrial 
purposes with the exception of that for industries 
preparing nourishment and relish for men (vide No. 
3 exception). 
The salt for purposes (vide No. 2 and No. 4) must 
be denaturalized (article 5 of the agreement of 8th 
May, 1897.) This shall be accomplished by means of 
pujverised wormwood (enactment of the 25 March 
1878.) I shall be glad to give you any more informa- 
tion, if wanted, and remain, dear sir, yours faithfully, 
Fh. Lange. 
»Ve have asked Mr. Lange kindly to send us 
copy of the enactments referred to, so as to ex- 
jiedite the action which we have no doubt the 
Tamil representative will take in the LegislaHve 
Council to have the same [uivileges as exist in Ger 
many extended to Ceylon. It is a matter in 
which both the Chamber of Commerce and the 
Planters’ Association should take a special interest, 
and we trust the year 1897 — notable in so many 
other ways — may see the long-desired permission 
given to Ceylon planters and agriculturists of 
all grades to use salt (certificated to be treated in 
the proper way) for apjdication to their palm, 
fruit, rice or other cultivation. 
CACAO DISEASE— THE GOVERNMENT— 
AND THE PLANTERS’ ASSOCIATION. 
The corresijondeiice given elsewhere from 
the Planters’ Association is, so far, 
satisfactory. It is reassuring to know that th ' 
Kew authorities have been consulted ; but still 
more so to understand that they will not act hastily 
in sending out any specialist until after Mr. 
Willis, the Director of our Gardens, has reported 
after consultation with Mr. E. E. Green. We 
are especially pleased that the qualifications 
and local experience of the latter as Entomo- 
logist are being so fully recognized, and we 
trust the Government will not hesitate to adopt 
the recommendation of the Planters’ Association 
Committee, and indeed to act even more liber- 
ally than is suggested. Mr. Green is the last 
uian in the world to presume or aggrandize : 
like so many true scientists he takes too modest 
a view of his acquirements and, in his case, of 
his ability to help his brother planters. Now, 
none of us should expect Mr. Willis or .Ir,’ 
Green to wo) k wonders ; but ive feel confident 
that both these gen.lemen will enter eon amore 
on the task allotted to them and will give the 
best advice in their power to the Government, 
Of course, Mr. Willis is the responsible adviser ; 
